Gleadell Viewpoint Spring 2010 by Gleadell Agriculture

SPRING 2010 VOL 8, ISSUE 1 www.gleadell.co.uk

Working together works best The challenge of remaining profitable, efficient and focussed is a central issue for all parts of the grain trade in current conditions. A feeble UK economy, uncertain government direction, lower cereal prices and a volatile currency are some of the factors that have combined to squeeze margins for farmers, grain merchants and end-users of all types of cereals, pulses and oilseeds since the boom / bust days of 2007/8. Some consumers of grain - mainly but not solely in the food sector - have been proactive in securing sustainable, long term supplies and providing farmers with viable and profitable marketing schemes: The Rank Hovis Red Wheat contract has now proven its worth, despite many predictions that it would be a disaster for all concerned and, at three farmer meetings early in 2010, we found farmers enthusiastically eager to support the ‘100% British Wheat’ loaves baked by Hovis. Indeed, we now have a fairly long list of farmers either keen to join the Red Wheat growers club, or to expand their acreage if they are already growing Red Wheat. In a very real way, feedback from Red Wheat growers has shown a keen and positive sense of being involved in a very worthwhile project. Call it a ‘feel good factor’ or whatever you like - but seeing bread baked from 100% British wheat - which many hundreds of farmers have been involved in producing - certainly perks up the weekly supermarket shopping trip.

Contents MARKET PROSPECTS

The Weetabix Growers Group is a fine example of a well-known brand looking to local farmers to supply their mill on a long term basis - and rewarding these farmers for having best environmental practice and sustainability at the forefront of their agronomic approach to crop production. Again, in a clear statement that farmers like the scheme, we are faced with a waiting list of farmers who would have liked to grow more wheat for Weetabix. In the malting world, Carlsberg and Heineken have placed attractive null-lox malting barley contracts in front of farmers at a time when sensibly-priced spring malting barley contracts have been rarer than an honest MP. The area grown under this scheme is expected to grow significantly over the next few years, and it is to be hoped that farmers remember the commitment from these and other grain consumers, and give them on-going support when, and if, the market turns around. Gleadell’s role with these consumers of grain is to ensure that viable contracts are offered in the correct fashion and, working with expert agronomists, to make sure that the right advice is given to farmers. Finally, our role is to see that the contracts work financially and logistically and we work hard to see that this happens. This joined-up approach to crop production and marketing is one that all at Gleadell embrace wholeheartedly. It is a completely different world from growing crops on the basis of the hope that someone will want to buy them at an unknown price at some stage in the future and it is an approach that we are finding ‘rings a bell’ to many involved in the production, marketing and processing of grain. We firmly believe that Gleadell has a defined, positive role to play in helping the evolution of all grain markets of the future in many sectors of what will continue to be fast moving and volatile markets.

Gleadell’s traders take a look ahead at the market prospects for feed grain, milling wheat, malting barley, oilseed rape, pulses – and the organic sector.

POSITIVE POOL RESULTS

Gleadell’s latest pool results prove, once again, the value of this low cost, hands-free option for farmers in what will continue to be fast moving and volatile markets.

FOCUS ON SEED

Our involvement in the seed market is developing strongly and Gleadell also has links with all the major plant breeders so that we sell the best variety and offer the best potential end market.

FOCUS ON FERTILSER

Gleadell continue to expand our port bagging and storage facilities at Immingham, Avonmouth and East Anglia, providing a great range of competitively priced, quality imported products.

FOCUS ON GLEADELL

The Great Yarmouth Grain Terminal takes shape, to be ready for harvest … Gleadell’s Southampton shiploader gets to work… the largest grain ship ever loaded in the Humber sets sail with nearly 50,000 tonnes of feed wheat.

FOCUS ON BIOETHANOL Vireol’s wheat-based ethanol plant in Grimsby gets firmly underway.

David Sheppard, managing director, Gleadell Agriculture

Gleadell Agriculture Limited

www.gleadell.co.uk

Feed Grain Global 2009 wheat production has risen from our autumn report by 12mln/t to 678mln/t, boosted by better-than-expected yields in key northern producing regions. In addition, increased production in Australia, Argentina and India has allowed the 2009 figure to fall only 5mln/t short of the 2008 record. With the growth in wheat use - mainly due to the food/industrial

Recently, defra released their December

an increase of 11% year-on-year. Assuming

Malting Barley

average post-December plantings, the total

Price direction is finely balanced.

survey, pegging the UK wheat planted area, as of 1st December, at 1.944mln hectares -

UK area should be slightly short of 2mln hectares. Working on a better-thanaverage yield of just over 8t/ha, this would produce a UK wheat crop of approximately 16.2mln/t. With domestic demand projected to increase, with more industrial use and less feed use, the exportable surplus is still seen at just under 3mln/t.

sector - negating lower use in the feed

The main focus now switches to US spring

sector, global stocks have still risen to a

crop plantings and global 2010 crop

nine-year high of 197mln/t.

development. With another large global

Looking forward, global wheat 2010 production is being projected considerably lower at 658mln/t as growers have switched to more profitable crops, thus reducing the wheat acreage. However, the increased stock level from the previous two bumper wheat crops will produce a higher total wheat availability going into the 2010/2011 season.

wheat crop projected for 2010, large 2009 grain stocks and currently favourable weather conditions, any price rallies led by non-grain fundamentals remain selling opportunities for the grower for both old or new crop. David Woodland, trader

EU soft wheat production, unlike the other key global producing regions, is set to increase with COCERAL forecasting a crop of 133mln/t, up from 131mln/t in 2009, mainly due to a 1.5% increase in the wheat planted acreage.

Milling Wheat The milling wheat market is very quiet at the moment. The running hours of most millers in the UK are down, so usage of milling wheat has not been good. So, what has happened on the back of this? Millers have not used as much as they were forecasting, therefore have not purchased as much - and the demand for flour and flour-based products does seem to have been affected by the global economic downturn. The wheat market is over-supplied anyway, and the price and premium has been pressured lower as suppliers compete for the limited demand that is still to come to the market. Exports of UKP and UKS have been slow over the winter but now they have picked up again. The UK market has lost export business to the very competitive sales being made out

of France. The French have a huge crop of good quality wheat to sell and have been aggressively selling into millers in Spain, Portugal and North Africa all season - and will continue to do so as the surplus in France needs to be out of the way come harvest. The outlook we would say is mixed. Most millers seem to be well covered for the remainder of this season, so there is not going to be a huge amount of domestic demand hitting the market - while export business is very hard to capture as there is so much competition from other origins. But opportunities will occur from time to time which will be worthwhile. For new crop, with increased EU/UK plantings, we expect to see a competitive export market and, as ever, the quality of the UK crop will determine where premiums are. Marc Rogerson, trading manager

MALTING BARLEY FACTS

• DEMAND FROM BREWERS STILL

SLOW AND PREDICTED DOWN 10-15% FROM 2010 CROP.

• EU AND UK CARRYOVER STOCKS HIGH. • EU SPRING AREA DOWN 15-20% AND WEATHER HAMPERING SOWING.

• UK WINTER BARLEY DOWN 3-4% AT AROUND 400,000 HECTARES WITH MALTING TYPES DOWN 20%.

• ENGLISH SPRING AREA DOWN FROM 447,000 TO 255,000 HECTARES WITH MALTING TYPES DOWN 5%.

• SCOTTISH SPRING AREA DOWN FROM 280,000 HA TO 225,000 HECTARES WITH MALTING TYPES DOWN 20%.

• OUTLOOK ENCOURAGING FOR 2011. The world old crop surpluses are still there but are disappearing much faster than expected. Australian stocks are very low and the EU has taken advantage of this by selling to China and South America. Here in the UK there is still barley around but it is not the specification that the market needs. EU spring plantings are forecast down 15-20% and sowing conditions have been far from ideal as it has been very wet nearly everywhere. In the UK, winter crops look good, spring drillings are later than we would like in England, but are still OK. In Scotland, drilling was on track until the snow and rains arrived in late March. There will be very little carryover in the UK (as ever), availability from the 2010 crop will be vastly reduced - and farmers are throwing nitrogen at the reduced winter malting barley crops due to the doom and gloom of the malting industry, and the small premium over feed. So price direction is finely balanced. Yes - harvest to December movement will be tough - but we will need an excellent crop in terms of both yield and quality if the market is going to receive the type and specification of barley that it requires. Has the market been driven down too far and what will happen if we have another big autumn wheat planting going into crop 2011? Premiums are likely to have to widen if we have any sort of crop problem, and a dry EU May/June would really make life interesting for those who are short in the market.

The bears may soon be back in hibernation and the bulls may be coming out to play. Will the industry ever learn the lessons of supply and demand and of supply chain management? Stuart Shand, sales director

MARKET PROSPECTS

The old crop rapeseed market has experienced a somewhat unexpected rally in recent weeks with price movements of rapeseed moving independently of other global oilseed influences. This recent spike in the old crop market has been largely down to logistical issues, and the increase in continental prices has helped to support UK rapeseed prices. Whether this rally in old crop can be sustained remains to be seen. On paper there is plenty of seed in the EU and certainly the UK should have a substantial surplus. If this is correct, prices should ease lower again once this technical squeeze is over. Looking forward to new crop, we will see another jump in demand due to the mandatory increase in the biofuel blending requirements across Europe that steps up again in 2011. This increases the pressure on production in the EU-27, and it is supporting third country suppliers to maintain average-to-good yields. However, the supply and demand picture is well balanced and it is difficult to draw a definitive market direction from these forecasts. If yields turn out to be better than average, prices will come under substantial pressure - particularly at harvest. However, with a relatively well-balanced carryout stock, the market can ill-afford to have any substantial crop problems. Of course, we are only focussing on the fundamentals of the market. In addition to this, we have to consider the added complications of currency movements, the influence of the stock and equity markets - and of crude oil. There is still a long time to go before we can be sure crops will be safe so, with this in mind, we suggest farmers hedge at least a proportion of their crop and keep a close eye on market developments over the next three to four months. Jonathan Lane, trading manager

Pulses

Organics

Planting for pulses indicates a rise in pea plantings and status quo in beans. Pea seed has been in demand for many reasons, but the main one has been the recognition of benefits brought from the rotation - plus poor expectations in spring barley values - making buybacks for pulses look attractive to both existing and new growers. Alas, all buybacks seem to have been withdrawn and fresh business is very difficult to place. On the bean front, winter plantings are the same as last year (defra), and the expectations for spring planting would indicate a similar picture, with seed houses selling out of the main varieties well before the planting window had finished.

MARKET SUMMARY

The situation in France is becoming clearer with spring bean planting up 20-22% and peas up about 60%. This will make France very competitive in the human consumption bean markets and, with the expectation that some of their crop will be downgraded to feed, they will be looking at the UK historic feed export markets as well. From the pea side, we do not expect the French situation to have much effect on the UK markets, as the French tend to grow yellow peas for Indian markets. In summary, given that crops come through the spring in good condition, we would expect bean and pea prices to be under pressure - unless other factors, such as currency / the global economy / other commodities, outweigh bearish fundamentals.

Supply of domestic grain is proving to be increasingly difficult as consumers have purchased most of the UK's produce. As a result, the market has firmed due to replacement costs of imported grain. Low exchange rates, finance, and added costs in and out of store are the main reason for the increase. Only a few consumers are covered for the remainder of the season and will top up as and when new orders come in. Others are mainly purchasing hand to mouth consequently, the demand for the run up to new crop is a little uncertain. However, we would expect all home grown supply to be taken up at some point before the end of the season. New crop has yet to establish itself - however, some consumers are tentatively looking at values for expected pre-Christmas orders. The organic sector has started to drag itself out of the slump in demand brought on by the recession. However, the recovery is slow and may take time to result in demand back at the levels seen in 2007 . Brian Wilburn, organic trader

Ian Skinn, pulses trader

Gleadell January to March 2010 Wheat Pool Results with premiums for lower protein milling wheat being particularly affected.

Abundant supplies of wheat around the world have kept markets under pressure for much of this season and we have been faced with mostly flat markets with ‘non-fundamental’ price rallies being clear selling opportunities.

Significant amounts of wheat have traded at around £90 ex-farm in the past three months and, at a £15 premium to this level, we believe our pool base price represents another good result for our pool members.

Premiums for quality wheat have also been pressured by the general quality of the UK crop

POOL PRICES PAID - NET OF HAULAGE AND COMMISSION 145.00 135.00 125.00

£/t

Oilseed Rape

Highest Price £110.23

Average Price £107.12 Base Price £105.22

115.00 105.00 95.00 85.00 JUN

JULY

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB

MAR

Bread making wheat range £109.22 to £125.22 depending on quality/grade

GLEADELL AGRICULTURE

FOCUS ON SEED

Gleadell’s involvement in the seed market is developing strongly. Our shareholder Union InVivo, through its subsidiary Serasem, is also a partner in LS Plant Breeding (LSPB) in a joint venture with NPZ of Germany.

SPOTLIGHT ON OILSEEDS

LS Plant Breeding Ltd (LSPB), based near Cambridge, is now establishing a firm presence in the UK market with two combining peas plus a spring bean on the 2010 PGRO Pulse Recommended Lists, and three candidate varieties in the 2010 HGCA Winter Oilseed Rape RL trials. "We have already had significant success in the UK with our oilseed rape and pulse varieties - such as Fuego spring bean and Emerson, oilseed rape being marketed by other breeders,” says Theo Labuda, managing director of LSPB. “We are now ready to market our new varieties directly and have the logistics firmly in place to fulfill expectations. “We have the backing of two of Europe's leading plant breeders, as LSPB is a joint venture between Serasem of France, Union InVivo’s seed operation, and NPZ Lembke of Germany - each with a long and successful track record in breeding oilseed rape, pulses, cereals and forage crops - both for Europe and the wider world. “Our varieties already on the Recommended Lists, and our candidate varieties, are good news for the UK as they show the results of our significant investment in breeding new, improved material and bring further choice to UK farmers when selecting varieties.”

The winter oilseed rape Recommended List trials for 2010 harvest include three new varieties - Sesame, Cracker and Palace marketed directly by LSPB - and a fourth, Rhino, released through KWS UK. These follow on from our existing success in the UK market with our varieties Emerson, marketed by Nickerson - plus Cullin, Mendel, Marcant and Palmedor, marketed by KWS UK. Sesame is quite simply the topyielding conventional variety on current form. This performance will be confirmed as it completes Recommended List trials this autumn. It has, however, already captured much interest as its yield improvement shows clear water between it and the competition.

Cracker is a club root resistant hybrid variety with high light leaf spot resistance. This combination will help to overcome the light leaf spot weakness of our current market leader Mendel when grown in the north. Palace is an interesting hybrid variety as it is a co-hybrid, a combination that attempts to utilise the maximum hybrid effect by using two different gene pools. So far, it has been the top-yielding variety in the north in National List trials. Recommended List trials for 2010 will be watched closely to confirm this potential.

SPOTLIGHT ON PULSES In combining peas we have two varieties on the 2010 PGRO Recommended List. Our high yielding white pea Gregor has progressed from P1 to P2 recommendation, whilst our large blue pea Bluestar - with yields that match those of Prophet - has been added with a provisional (P1) recommendation. Two new varieties, Franklin and Salamanca both white peas - have been taken forward into PGRO 2010 Recommended List trials for potential approval this autumn. More peas are set to follow with material in National List trials covering most types - blues, whites and marrowfats.

For Field Beans, our pale hilum spring bean Fury - which is higheryielding than the market leader Fuego - has been added to the 2010 PGRO Recommended List with a provisional (P1) recommendation. While the winter bean Husky has also progressed to (P1) on the 2010 PGRO list. Husky has a pale hilum too with grain quality well suited to export premium markets - and its yield matches those of market leader Wizard. In the specialist market, our tannin-free spring bean Tattoo is also being marketed in the UK through KWS.

FOCUS ON SEED

Theo Labuda, managing director of LSPB, outlines the exciting varieties due for launch this year - including Sesame oilseed rape and Fury winter bean – as well as their oilseed, pulse and cereal varieties in the pipeline. Gleadell also has strong links with the other major plant breeders and Chris Guest, Gleadell’s seed manager, reviews the wheat varieties that matter this season.

With our link with LSPB, and our partnerships with other leading seed breeders and end users, we believe Gleadell can offer growers not only the best new varieties but also those with the best end market potential.

Stuart Shand, sales director

SPOTLIGHT ON CEREALS Our breeding programmes for winter wheat, winter and spring barley, oats and triticale suitable for UK conditions are now well underway. In spring barley we are the breeders of well known varieties such as Riviera and Centurion, marketed in the UK through RAGT. New varieties are in the pipeline and, as with other crops,

MARKET PROSPECTS

Seed The 2010/11 buying season has now started and Gleadell has been working closely with breeders and consumers to bring growers the best agronomic varieties – and also new varieties with guaranteed end market demand. We are therefore well placed to offer both new and tested varieties, with competitive buybacks to farmers in all areas. In particular, the wheat seed market this year sees a number of new varieties added to the HGCA Recommended List across all the NIAB groupings.

will be released directly by LSPB in due course. Although triticale is only a small market, our variety Tremplin enjoys a major role and is marketed through Nickerson. For wheat and oats, we are currently in the early stages of working to adapt French material to the UK environment.

GROUP 1 Gallant looks very exciting after last year’s success and there is little doubt that it will take a large market share for harvest 2011. Solstice will remain a firm favourite and we see shares of the older varieties falling this autumn. GROUP 2 A number of new varieties come onto the CEL Recommended List. KWS Sterling is an excellent variety which is offered with buyback and will take a major market share. We will also be offering two other exciting Group 2 varieties – Kingdom and Panorama. These new varieties will be offered with a buyback contract – which will help secure a premium in volatile times. Kingdom looks very interesting and is attracting good support from the millers and looks to be an early harvest variety. Cordiale will remain a mainstay in the Group 2 market due to being early to harvest, with good grain quality – and we will also be able to offer this at competitive prices with yet another attractive buyback contract.

GROUP 3 Only one contender this year – Invicta, which is the number 1 soft variety. It is the highest-yielding Group 3 variety on the HGCA list – some 6% ahead of Claire and overall the third highest yielding variety on the list behind Oakley and Conqueror (Group 4 feed varieties). Therefore, high yields and excellent grain quality characteristics will lead to higher gross margins in 2011. Gleadell will offer Invicta on a guaranteed Group 3 premium buyback. GROUP 4 Conqueror looks set to be an excellent hard wheat variety in competition with Oakley for yield. Grafton will also continue to fit in to the rotation as an excellent early drilling and harvesting variety, suiting those who wish to drill OSR after a wheat crop. Chris Guest, seed manager

GLEADELL AGRICULTURE

FOCUS ON FERTILISER MARKET PROSPECTS

Fertiliser Like grain markets, UK fertiliser prices and availability continue to be influenced not only by supply and demand, but also

Passing the test FERTILISER PRODUCTS MARKETED BY GLEADELL ARE ALL OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY AND ARE TESTED AND CALIBRATED BY SCS (SPREADER & SPRAYER TESTING LIMITED), THE UK'S BIGGEST AND MOST RESPECTED CALIBRATION AND TESTING COMPANY.

by outside influences such as

WITH ENGINEERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, THEY TEST

globalisation and corporate ownership.

TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS.

As part of a global merger, GrowHow ownership has changed to being 50% owned by CF industries and 50% by Yara. The UK trade is very nervous as to how this will affect the supply chain as well as farmer choice - especially with rumours that Yara may soon wholly own the UK’s last surviving national manufacturing plants.

“There are three important reasons to test,” says Rob Foxall of SCS. “The first is economic - the cost of fertiliser is a major expense for growers, and excessive delivery not only costs in materials but also has a negative impact on growth. Inaccurate spreading can cause yield losses of up to £47 per hectare and creates striping in fields resulting in harvesting difficulties and potential loss of premiums.

So, globalisation of the fertiliser industry continues and, inevitably, this means that new state of the art plants are - and will be - built closer to cheaper gas supplies in countries such as Egypt. With the UK’s two remaining factories being over fifty years old, the UK’s import requirement can only increase in the future. Thankfully, the myth that imported product is inferior to UK produced fertiliser is certainly not the case. Indeed, Yara already import a large proportion of their nitrogen through ports

“Second, excessive and inaccurate delivery of fertiliser places unnecessary strain on the environment. When machinery is tested and properly calibrated, harmful residues and run-off into watercourses are minimised or eliminated. “Third, testing is compulsory under most UK assurance schemes for sprayers - and is strongly recommended for spreaders. It is also a requirement under the European NVZ (Nitrate Vulnerable Zones) regulations and for Cross Compliance. We supply appropriate documentation and certificates for all of our tests at no extra cost.”

around the UK. To meet the growing demand for imports, Gleadell continue to expand our port bagging and storage facilities at Immingham, Avonmouth and East Anglia, providing a great range of competitively priced, quality imported products. This complements our range of UK quality products through our partnerships with UK producers such as Origin Fertilisers. Calum Findlay, fertiliser trader

Mr Foxall explained that, when fertilising crops, the best results are achieved when the spread pattern, i.e. the amount of fertiliser that is applied to each section of ground, is as even as possible. The level of variance is known as the coefficient of variation (CV) and for effective spreading should be no more than 10%. “Our test is a three part process which will ensure optimum spreading, a wellmaintained machine and produces the most meaningful information of any available in the UK today.” The three parts consist of a MOT-style check - a thorough examination of the machine and its working parts. Growers are presented with a checklist showing the condition of the machine and any

recommended maintenance. Then a Tray Test Analysis - a practical test, based on European and British kitemark standards. The CV is measured and presented in an easy to understand graph. And, third, calibration wherever the CV can be improved, the spreader is calibrated accordingly, retested and a rectified graph and measurement is produced. Mr Foxall added that all SCS testers are now qualified to test granular applicators and they have set the same high standards for granular applicator tests as for spreader and sprayer testing. “The test involves 28 separate inspections and checks - including outputs from each individual nozzle. And just like our other tests, it is subject to the exacting standards of the National Sprayer Testing Scheme (Micro-Granular Applicator, Gravity and Air Assisted) and the results are logged with the NSTS.” Rob Foxhall, Spreader & Sprayer Testing Ltd

FOCUS ON GLEADELL

FOCUS ON GLEADELL THE GREAT YARMOUTH GRAIN TERMINAL TAKES SHAPE, TO BE READY FOR HARVEST. Our Great Yarmouth Grain Terminal is taking shape as the steelworks for the 20,000 tonnes flat store emerge on the skyline alongside the port’s two huge gantry cranes. Construction is well on track and we can now look forward to completion, ready for harvest, when we will provide an integrated operation on the site with a state of the art dryer, over 20,000 tonnes of flat storage and a mobile shiploader capable of loading vessels up to 25,000 tonnes. Our grain terminal will give farmers in East Anglia and beyond a world-class facility without spending a penny of their own money, with no capital tied up, and without the double haulage costs incurred in all inland central stores as it is an end user destination.

Darren Gibson joined Gleadell from Associated British Ports in February as site manager for the Great Yarmouth Grain Terminal: “My task is to oversee the construction and design stage of the project, and to implement procedures prior to the opening of the facility in July. Once the terminal is up and running, I will be ensuring that all operations are run smoothly, and will also be running the laboratory.” Darren is joined by Sean Rands, deputy site manager, who will be looking after the operations within the storage facility and assisting with the day to day running of the operation and Jeff Baldock, who will be supervising the loading of vessels and also helping with storage-related operations and laboratory testing. The team will soon be completed ready for the busy harvest period. “The next major stage will be in May when we will see the arrival of our fully mobile B&W Shiploader, which is currently under construction,” adds Darren.

THE LARGEST GRAIN SHIP EVER LOADED IN THE HUMBER SETS SAIL WITH NEARLY 50,000 TONNES OF FEED WHEAT. “In March, we loaded MV Komatsushima Star at the Humber International Terminal, Immingham with nearly 50,000 tonnes of UK feed wheat bound for the Far East,” says David Sheppard, managing director of Gleadell Agriculture. "In a situation where exports have proved difficult in an oversupplied global market, this shipment is excellent news for all involved and a good example of the cooperation we get with the numerous farmers and merchant suppliers across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands, who are key to making business like this happen. It also underlines the importance of the world market access

and cooperation provided by our shareholder Toepfer International." Mark Ranby, Gleadell’s shipping manager, points out that MV Komatsushima Star is the largest grain vessel Gleadell have loaded and the largest grain vessel ever loaded in the Humber. "The operation was certainly a logistic challenge for us with over 1,750 wagon loads to be planned and coordinated to complete the loading on a 24-hour day and night schedule. However, thanks to the assistance given by staff at ABP Grimsby and Immingham, and the large number of farmers and hauliers who took part in the operation, this record shipment to the Far East was loaded on time and on spec."

SOUTHAMPTON SHIPLOADER GETS TO WORK. Gleadell's new Southampton shiploader loaded its first vessel with UK feed wheat last autumn. The shiploader is capable of loading vessels up to approx 6,000 tonnes, and gives the company new access to export markets from Southampton and will be mainly used for feed grains as well as specialist export cargoes of malting barley and milling wheat. Steve Harrison, Gleadell’s regional manager, commented, “We have a growing farm business in the south of England and we can see good export demand in the future for various crops. The best way to make this business happen was to invest in our own loading facility and we are confident that this will result in excellent marketing opportunities for our UK farmer customers - and our customers abroad in the years ahead.”

GLEADELL AGRICULTURE

GLEADELL AROUND THE COUNTRY

BIOETHANOL Vireol is pleased to be working with Gleadell as our wheat-based ethanol plant in Grimsby gets firmly underway.

… IN THE NORTH-WEST

Vireol knows only too well that producing ethanol on a large scale will have a huge impact on the dynamics of the UK wheat market – but the opportunities are huge too. Legislation has created a significant mandated market for renewable transport fuels. EU members are responsible for national action plans to hit an important 2020 target: 10% of the energy content of road transport fuels will have to be supplied from a renewable source.

… IN YORKSHIRE

Europe’s bioethanol capacity is hugely underdeveloped. A five-fold increase will be needed to meet the baseline demand for 2020. Happily, bioethanol can address the feedstock challenges of cost and sustainability that face biodiesel, giving producers such as Vireol the potential to capture more than 50% of the renewable fuels market.

... AT IMMINGHAM

… IN LINCOLNSHIRE

We can also avoid the ‘food versus fuel’ issue which, for some observers, has clouded the biofuels debate. Apart from producing 165,000 tonnes of bioethanol, Grimsby will also produce from its UK feed wheat supply approximately 187,000 tonnes of DDGs (dry distillers grains) for animal feed, as well as liquefied CO2 for the food and drink industries. So for the livestock sector, we are replacing both soya and feed grains in some diets.

... AT GREAT YARMOUTH

… IN EAST ANGLIA

Vireol will break ground on its 17.7 hectare site later this year and key commercial arrangements are already in place: a long term feedstock supply contract with Gleadall Agriculture; a power and steam agreement with a leading European utility; and water from Anglian Water. Long-term offtake agreements for all three outputs have also been signed.

… IN THE MIDLANDS

We look forward to putting Britain at the forefront of European ethanol production and sharing this exciting opportunity with the UK grain sector. Together - and possibly for the first time - we can turn EU regulation into a win-win.

… AT AVONMOUTH

David Knibbs, CEO of Vireol

… IN THE SOUTH

www.gleadell.co.uk DISCLAIMER: Prices quoted are indicative only at the time of going to press and subject to location and quality. Gleadell Agriculture cannot accept liability arising from errors or omissions in this publication.

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